Monday, January 7, 2013

The National Capital Commission is planning to sell more Greenbelt land.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, both located in Washington, D.C, are sacred places in America, untouchable; no one would dare build condos, townhouses or parking lots near the sites.

The Greenbelt that surrounds Ottawa is also a sacred place, a living memorial, in perpetuity, to the Canadian soldiers who died during World War 1 and World War 11. The following, personal photographs were taken at the Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands, where one of my maternal uncle's is buried. My other maternal uncle is buried at the at the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Normandy, France.

Jacques Greber, a French landscape architect and urban designer who created the Greenbelt, probably never imagined that parts of this memorial would be sold to housing corporations.

I do not object to this land being leased for the benefit of ordinary citizens - for outdoor or indoor recreational activities (toboggan hills; pavilions; golf courses; tennis courts; marinas/boat clubs); tourist venues such as restaurants; horse ranches; a hospital, high school, college or university; a sports complex; farms, orchards; a federal government Experimental Farm or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.....
What I VEHEMENTLY object to is the privatization of the Greenbelt.
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The National Capital Act gives the NCC the power to dismantle the Greenbelt, to sell it off. The Master Plan details what may be in store for the corn fields, trees, lakes and ponds that inhabit this landscape; allegedly, these are are only concepts, ideas---. However, the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel once stated that potentiality precedes actuality:GREENBELT MASTER PLAN, CONSULTATION REPORT - Phase 1 - Step C - Land Use Concept - Prepared for the National Capital Commission January 2012:

The potential removal of Greenbelt designation from the Nepean Sportsplex.

Potential removal of Greenbelt designation from the Eagleson Park and Ride.

Possible sale of Parcel 2, the site at the southwest corner of West Hunt Club Road and Woodroffe Avenue, with buildings. (Note: I thought Agriculture Canada owned that land, which is close to where I live in Arlington Woods. See a 1970's map of Parcel 2, below.))

Possible sale of Parcel 3, the lands east of Conroy Road and south of Hunt Club with small trees. (Note: I just looked on Google Maps--- is the NCC thinking of selling that entire, massive bloc of vacant land? The Conroy Pit, a popular off-leash dog park, is close to Parcel 3; I live in Arlington Woods in Nepean; the Bruce Pit is a fantastic off-leash dog park.

Possible sale of Parcel 4, an isolated parcel on the west side of Highway 417, which is a mixture of idle field and small trees.

(Below) A 1970's map of Parcel 2, which the National Capital Commission is thinking of selling, most likely to residential builders. "As of March 31, 1998, the Greenbelt Research Farm, which covers 1,200 hectares of land bordered by Hunt Club Road, Woodroffe Avenue, Fallowfield Road and Greenbank Road, ceased to function as an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre. This was announced in the 1995 Federal Budget." (From: National Capital Region Greenbelt.) This entire bloc of land must be worth billions of dollars, but the National Capital Commission does not have to deposit the proceeds of any sale into the Canadian treasury, the Consolidated Revenue Fund; instead, the NCC will keep the money in order to buy more properties for the NCC. Also, as an arms-length Crown corporation, the National Capital Commission can sell this property to whomever it pleases.WE ARE LOSING THIS MASSIVE PIECE OF LAND, PEOPLE . Parcel Number 2 may be sold to developers or perhaps to a foreign government (China, India and Saudi Arabia are buying up land in New Zealand and Africa to grow food and bio-fuel for the citizens of China, India and Saudi Arabia.)
City of Ottawa zoning change signs will be planted on the grounds; trees and bushes will be cut down; all the buildings will be demolished, the wetlands will be drained, and countless wild animals will lose their habitat.

Agriculture and Agri-food Canada transferred this property to the National Capital Commission.. As of March 31, 1998, the Greenbelt Research Farm encompassed 1,200 hectares, or 2,965 acres of land. (This map is from Library and Archives Canada on Wellington Street in Ottawa.)

Bill Teron, "The Father of Kanata" and a former head of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, wants to see a million people live in on Greenbelt land: "It's a gorgeous place, but very seldom do you see people within it. Here, a million people could connect."

A few years ago, Bill Teron told the Ottawa Citizen newspaper that part of the Central Experimental Farm should be sold for housing. Ninety-one acres of land have already been annexed from The Farm---in 1987 or 1988, the Clyde/Merivale lands were privatized, and a new community called Central Park was created.

The Governor-General of Canada should have the power to exclude "sacred or remembrance lands", "historically significant", and "ecologically sensitive" federal lands from residential and resource development.
. In Canada, federal Crown land is designated as belonging to Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.